Page 56 of Dare to Rock

Because she was finally looking at him, and she was instantly aware of more than her own emotions. His tanned, bare chest filled her line of vision, and her pulse began a heavy beat in her veins. Desire kicked in, making itself known in telling ways, her sex filling with need, her breasts suddenly heavy and aching to be touched.

“Now let’s get back to what changed your mind about staying here, with me,” he said.

“Oh, that.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, that.”

She blew out a deep breath, forcing herself to concentrate on what he needed for a change, and that was answers.

They weren’t simple, but she owed him the truth. “On the one hand, there’s the practical consideration. I really do need to stay someplace safe.”

He nodded. “We all agree on that. But if safe is all you’re looking for, across the hall works just fine.”

He was right. “I know. But after everything that happened with my father at lunch, all I wanted to do was see you. I wanted to talk to you.” Her mind had been filled with thoughts of him. “I already knew I had to make a decision about where to go, and after talking to my sisters, I realized I’d be deluding myself if I thought I could stay anywhere butwithyou.” She drew a deep breath for courage and said, “We click, Grey. And I can’t run from that anymore.”

“Thank fuck,” he muttered, and she couldn’t help but grin.

“I can’t promise what the future will bring,” she had to add. “But I’m here now, and I’m trying to give this thing a shot.”

It wasn’t something she’d consciously decided at lunch; rather, as she’d sat here unloading her burdens, letting him help her ease her pain, she’d understood running away was no longer an option. She needed to try.

***

At Avery’s words, Grey’s heart pounded hard in his chest. She was baring her soul in a way she’d never done before, because it pertained to them. She was admitting that she was as invested as he was... he hoped. But he also knew his own needs could be setting him up for a hard fall he wasn’t prepared to take. He heard what she was saying, but he had to make sure he processed correctly.

“We need to be clear, sugar. I want to see where things gofor real. Are you on board?”

Her honest, open gaze met his. “I am.”

She’d just given him everything he’d asked for and all he needed to hear. He pulled her across his lap and managed to twist so she straddled him now. The skirt from her dress flipped up easily on its own, her moist panties coming into direct heated contact with his rigid cock, which strained against his workout shorts.

“Mmm. You feel good.” She rocked her hips and, at the same time, placed her hands on his bare chest, skimming his flesh with her orange-painted fingernails.

Goose bumps and arousal hit him hard.

“You feel better.” He slid her dress up and over her head, tossing it to the ground at their feet.

“We’re outside,” she said, her eyes open wide.

“We are.” He flicked his wrist and divested her of her bra, adding to the pile, then cupped her breasts in his hands, squeezing the mounds with his palms before zeroing in on her pert nipples, tweaking and toying with each.

“Oh God.” She rolled her hips against his dick, moaning as she obviously hit the right spot.

He gritted his teeth, counting in his head, holding back the need pulsing through him at breakneck speed. If he let go, he’d come hard in his pants like a teenager with no control. And that wasn’t happening.

“I want to see you come for me. Right here under the warm sun and open air.” His apartment was high enough that nobody else could see her. Nobody could share in the bounty that was Avery.

“I need to,” she said in a hoarse voice, her nipples tight, body trembling.

He leaned in and pulled one of her nipples into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the distended tip before grazing the hard nub with his teeth.

She whimpered and arched her back, pushing her breast deeper. He plucked at her other one before switching it up, wrapping his lips around the other nipple and playing with the damp one with his fingers. All the while, she moaned and sighed, rocking against him and keeping him riding the edge.

Unable to wait, he slid his free hand into the waistband of her barely there panties and cupped her wet heat. “Fuck, sugar, you’re soaking.”

“Just for you.” She rolled her hips back and forth, her sighs louder, music to his very attuned ears.

“Come for me now, and I’ll make sure it’s the first of many.” He felt confident making that promise, since his cock pulsed in rhythm to her now-jerky moves, ready for action.

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